A new analysis of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trials show that women who had metabolic syndrome before they started hormone therapy had a greatly increased risk of heart attack or dying of heart disease. Women who didn't have metabolic syndrome beforehand showed no increased risk. The study was published this month online in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society. "Our findings emphasize the importance of assessing cardiovascular disease risk status when hormone therapy is considered for relief of menopausal symptoms," wrote the WHI investigators who authored the study.